Author: Gary Witcher
Company: none

Jesus: Mediator

     "There is no umpire between us, who may lay his hand upon us both," Job laments in Job 9:33.
     That's sad, isn't it?  Whenever there is a split between individuals or groups, the only hope is often the intercession of a mediator.  This becomes most critical when the rift is between God and us.
     Of course, God created a world which included harmony between Him and man.  We see this in the first few chapters of Genesis.  And even today, as we learn from passages such as Matthew 18:3, we all begin our lives in good relationship with God.  What happened to change the original harmony between God and mankind?  What happens in each of our lives to separate us from God?
     "Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save," Isaiah 59:1-2 replies; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, so that He does not hear."
     Our relationship with God has been interupted by our sins.  As God recognizes in verse 16, the situation is complicated by the lack of an intercessor or mediator.
     It is the responsibility of any mediator to do two things.  First of all, he must establish communication between the two parties.  Then he must establish a new relationship between the two.
     Notice from the passage we read from Isaiah 59 that the first thing that happens between us and God is that communication is severed.
     "Neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear," the first verse points out.  "But...your sins have hid His face from you," verse two adds, "so that He does not hear."
     In Genesis 3:8-10 we see that the first reaction of Adam and Eve is to run and hide.  In other words, they break off communication with God.
     Fortunately for us, God is not trying to hide.  He is trying to communicate with us through Jesus.
     "God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways," we read in Hebrews 1:1-2, "in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."
     "Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God," Hebrews 4:14-16 points out, "let us hold fast our confession.
     "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
     "Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need."
     When it comes to establishing communication between God and man, Jesus is the perfect mediator.  God has chosen to speak through Him.  And, from our point of view, He is ideal since He has been through everything which we encounter.
     "Therefore if any man is in Christ," Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17-19, "he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come.
     "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation."
     Jesus is the one and only mediator when it comes to establishing a new relationship between God and man.
     "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again," Romans 8:15 explains of this new relationship, "but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba!  Father!'"
     Since it is Jesus who establishes communication and a new relationship between God and man, He is the perfect mediator.  In fact, He is the only mediator.
     "For there is one God," Paul states in 1 Timothy 2:5, "and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."
     There are two other related terms which are applied to Jesus in the New Testament.  According to Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25, Jesus is our intercessor or supplicator.  He is identified in 1 John 2:1-2 as our advocate.
     No matter whether we think of Him as mediator, intercessor or advocate, Jesus is definitely the crucial middle link in our association with God.

     Remember that one of the tasks of a mediator is to establish communication.  As most of us realize if we take a little time to think about it, there are four elements which are essential to communication.
     If we are going to communicate, the first thing we must do is listen.  Most dialogues break down here, since, as someone has correctly observed, what we usually have are "converging monologues."
     Do we really listen to God?  Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing.  Anything else is not faith.
     The second element which is important for communication is to think.  How often do we put our mouths into gear while our brains are still in neutral?
     "Finally, brethren," Philippians 4:8 admonishes, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things."
     Be honest.  How much time have you spent lately thinking about what God has to say?
     The third critical part of communication is to respond.  In other words, some effort is required on our part.  James 2:14 tells us that it is useless to say we have faith if our actions don't back this up.
     Finally, communication requires confirmation.  There is what I say.  Then there is what you hear.  And then there is what I think you thought I said.  The sequence goes on.  But the point is that we must confirm what we hear.
     "Now these were more noble minded than those in Thessalonica," Acts 17:11 says of the people of Berea, "for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so."
     Are we listening, thinking, responding and confirming in our communication with God?
     Those who study interactions between people have found that there are basically five levels of communication.  The relationship between two individuals can be evaluated by determining the level of communication between them.
     The lowest level of communication is the cliche'.  This is what we sometimes call "elevator talk": "How are you?," "How is the weather?"  This level serves a purpose, but it does not lead to a very meaningful relationship.
     "And when you are praying," Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:7, "do not use meaningless repetition, as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words."
     Does your communication with God stop at this level?
     The second level of communication involves fact finding.  Again, this level serves a purpose.  But a relationship which stops here is not very deep.
     In 2 Timothy 3:1-7 Paul writes about people who love pleasure rather than God.  Verse five says they hold to a form of godliness.  But, as verse seven points out, they are "always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
     Does your relationship with God stop at fact-finding?
     The third level is an exchange of ideas or judgements.  At this level we ask, "What do you think?"  It involves a certain amount of self-evalutation.  This level is higher than the first two, but it is still two short of the top.
     "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith," Paul instructs in 2 Corinthians 13:5; "examine yourselves!"
     Does your communication with God stop with an exchange of ideas or judgments?
     There seems to be a barrier between levels three and four.  Most relationships never advance beyond this point.  Then, again, most relationships are not very meaningful.
     The fourth level deals with feeling.  We ask, "How do you feel about this?"  Remember, there is a difference in what a person thinks about something and how he feels about it.
     In Mark 14 we find Jesus in Gethsemane, involved in level four communication with God.  Jesus is not asking about the weather, and He is not looking for facts.  He is not really even trying to exchange ideas with His Father.  What He is doing is sharing how He feels.
     "And though you have not seen Him, you love Him," 1 Peter 1:8 says of our relationship with Jesus, "and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory."
     Look at your relationship with God.  At which level does your communication with Him stop?  Remember, Jesus died to establish our communication with God.  What is this worth to us?
     Level five is identified as peak experiences.
     If communication is poor or does not exist, there is a reason.  Psychologists have found a number of barriers to good communication.  Some of these are fear; materialism; the fast pace of American life; bitterness and anger; fault-finding, belittling and blaming; mind reading, and lying.  We don't have time now to examine verses in connection with each one, but consider how these same barriers affect our relationship with God.
     Perhaps the greatest barrier to good communication, though, is silence.  This is never more true than it is in our association with God.
     "Pray without ceasing," 1 Thessalonians 5:17 advises.  We can't expect God to listen if we don't talk.
     "Having eyes, do you not see?" Jesus asks in Mark 8:18.  "And having ears, do you not hear?"  There is no way we can hear without listening to what God has to say.
     If we refuse to make use of the communication that Jesus has opened with God, then we can expect nothing but continued slavery to that same sin which separated us in the first place.
     But if we will only listen to and obey the truth, it will set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)